(09-27) 14:26 PDT -- Appearing upbeat, very lucid and apologetic for
the confusion, Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Terrell Owens denied that
he attempted suicide late Tuesday by overdosing on prescription pain
medication.

"There was no suicide attempt,'' Owens said, categorically denying the
assertion of a police report that described a Dallas Fire and Medical
Rescue dispatch call made at 7:51 p.m. Tuesday to his residence in
downtown Dallas.

The report describes the dispatch to Owens' residence as an "attempted
suicide" call, and contains details in which a woman - later revealed
to be Owens' publicist, Kim Etheridge - telling the reporting officers
the player had ingested as many as 30 hydrocodone pain pills and was
incoherent.

Owens sat before a packed news conference at the Cowboys' Valley Ranch
training facility and said he was "groggy" when, according to the
police report, rescue officers questioned him about his state of mind
and he initially told them he was depressed and intended to harm
himself.

"The rumor of me taking 35 pills is absurd. I don't think I would be
here if I had taken 35 pills,'' said Owens, who also denied his stomach
was pumped.

Meanwhile, former 49ers coach and executive Bill Walsh said Wednesday
he tried to convince Owens, who played for the team from 1996-2003, to
seek professional psychiatric treatment during the 2000 season and that
the mercurial wide receiver angrily rebuffed his advice.

"I know. I was right in the middle of it, because I was running the
organization,'' said Walsh, who served as the 49ers general manager
during the 2000 season, the year he believed Owens' behavior had
spiraled completely out of control and became a distraction. "I did try
to get him outside counseling but he refused. And there is no way you
can obligate somebody to seek treatment.''

Walsh said he spoke to Owens at length, as did team consultant, Dr.
Harry Edwards, about the receiver's state of mind and his behavior.

"I spent a lot of time with Terrell and Harry and I spoke to him
continuously,'' Walsh said. "But he had his own values, I guess you
could say, and his own way of doing things and you really weren't going
to change his mind.

"You couldn't really penetrate it, what was in his mind.''

Owens' crumbling relationship with the 49ers reached a crescendo during
a Sept. 24, 2000 game against the Cowboys as Texas Stadium, when he
celebrated a pair of touchdown catches by running to midfield and
standing atop the Cowboys' star logo, raising his hands to the sky. He
made a second run at the star logo but was tackled by Dallas safety
George Teague.

An embarrassed 49ers' organization handed out swift punishment;
then-coach Steve Mariucci suspended Owens for a week, as ordered, and
the receiver lost a week's pay. Owens reacted angrily, leaving the Bay
Area for his family home in Alabama.

Walsh said Wednesday, "That's when he went way over the line. There had
been some other incidents but the one, the game in Dallas, that was too
much to tolerate.''

In the news conference Wednesday at Valley Ranch, Owens said he
returned home Tuesday afternoon after working at the Cowboys' facility
and took some of his pain medication - which he confirmed was
hydrocodone, the generic name for a narcotic medication also known as
Vicodin - along with some of his "natural" supplements that he also
takes on a daily basis.

"After that, I was just kind of groggy and took a couple of extra pills
with my supplements,'' Owens explained.

He said Etheridge arrived at his residence at about 5 p.m. and Owens
conceded she may have observed something in his reaction to the
medication and supplements that alarmed her.

Owens told reporters he had removed a portion of the hydrocodone pills
from the prescription bottle, which may have led Etheredge to conclude
he had ingested the missing medication.

"The bottle was on the table and it was empty. The rest of the pills
were in a drawer and I guess she felt that I had taken all the pills,''
Owens said. "She made that call because of her judgment, based on my
well-being.''

Owens said he cannot recall being questioned by the emergency medical
technician or any doctors about his condition, what he said to them
about his state of mind, or what he took.

"I was kind of out of it,'' Owens said.

He also said he was on hand for the Cowboys' Wednesday practice and
that he expects to be ready for Sunday's game against the Tennessee
Titans.

"Yeah, I just finished working out outside,'' Owens said. "I feel very
capable of going out there and playing on Sunday. That's my main goal.
I'm here to help this team win.''

Owens also said, "I want to apologize to the organization for this
being a distraction.''

Etheridge spoke after Owens and expressed regret that the police report
made reference to a suicide attempt, and said her client's celebrity
status caused the story to be blown out of proportion.

"He has 25 million reasons to be alive,'' a haggard Etheredge said,
alluding to Owens' three-year, $25 million contract with the Cowboys.

Hydrocodone is often prescribed in pill or tablet form but can be
dispensed in liquid form in cough syrups, typically as 10 mg of Codeine
and 650 mg of Acetaminophen. Adverse reactions, including nausea,
vomiting, drowsiness, allegoric reaction and depressed respiration can
occur, according to drugs.com.

Said Walsh, "I believe what Terrell said, that it wasn't a suicide
attempt. But unfortunately, you can have all sorts of things like this
every week with Terrell. It will always be something else with him,
some distraction, every day, every week. It's just ongoing.

"It'll be a distraction all year (for the Cowboys). Now, he may make
some great plays. But the way he is, because of who he is, there will
always be some distraction.''

Owens, 32, was released from Baylor University Medical Center on
Wednesday morning, giving reporters a thumbs-up as he left the hospital
following conflicting reports about his overdose of prescription pain
medication.

Owens was treated there overnight after a police report - originally
obtained by a Dallas television station - indicated the Cowboys
receiver might have consumed as many as 30 of his pain pills.

The report says Dallas Fire and Rescue officer received a 911 call and
were dispatched to his residence at 3800 Commerce Street in downtown
Dallas, the Mitchell Lofts Apartments, at 7:51 p.m. Tuesday.

The report said a call was in regard to someone "attempting suicide by
prescription pain medication,'' and that a woman on the scene noticed
Owens' pain medication bottle was empty and that he was trying to place
two pills in his mouth.

The woman - who later was revealed to be Etheridge - told officers she
tried to pry the two pills from Owens' mouth.

The prescription, which had been filled on Sept. 18, originally
contained 40 tablets. Etheridge told a rescue officer that Owens told
her had taken only five of the pills.

When a rescue officer asked Owens if he had taken the remainder of the
prescription, he replied, "Yes."

When the officer asked Owens if he was attempting to harm himself, he
replied, "Yes."

Dallas Police also responded to the residence, according to the report.

Owens underwent surgery after fracturing the fourth metacarpal bone in
his right hand in a Sept. 16 game against Washington. Cowboys coach
Bill Parcells had described Owens as having adverse reactions to his
pain medication in the days following his injury but there were
expectations Owens might play in this week's game against Tennessee.

The person making the 911 call was not named in the preliminary
narrative report.

But Etheridge confirmed she was the one who made the emergency call
because she noticed Owens appeared "lethargic."

Attempted suicide is not a criminal offense under the Texas Penal Code,
and Dallas Police Lt. Rick Watson said during a very brief news
conference that the incident was being viewed only as a medical
emergency.

Watson would neither confirm nor deny the suicide inferences in the
police report, in which Etheridge stated to officers that Owens told
her he was "depressed"

"This is a high profile person. We looked into it and we determined it
is not a criminal offense. This is a medical type of situation that
occurred,'' Watson said.

After the story initially broke late Tuesday, Etheridge tried to
clarify Owens' condition, saying the five-time Pro Bowler did not have
his stomach pumped and simply had an allergic reaction to the pain
medication.

The 49ers, who drafted Owens with the 3rd round of the 1996 NFL Draft
out of Tennessee-Chattanooga, had their share of ups and downs dealing
with the talented but moody receiver.

Owens emerged as a playmaker in the 1997 season, taking over as the
team's top wideout when Jerry Rice sustained a torn ACL. He combined
with quarterback Steve Young to help the 49ers win 13 games.

His game-winning touchdown catch from Young against the Green Bay
Packers during a playoff game the following season was dubbed "The
Catch II." Afterward, an emotional Owens broke down and sobbed in the
locker room.

The 2000 Dallas incident established Owens' reputation as a
troublemaker.

As the 49ers' fortunes fell, Owens' behavior became more disruptive and
erratic. Although he established an NFL record in a Dec. 17, 2000 game
after catching 20 catches for 283 yards from Jeff Garcia, he feuded
openly with Mariucci and his quarterback.

After leaving the 49ers after the 2003 season and signing with the
Philadelphia Eagles, Owens created more controversy in a Playboy
Magazine article by implying that Garcia was gay.

His stay in Philadelphia was equally polarizing. Owens sustained a
sprained ankle and a broken leg in a Dec. 19, 2004 game against the
Cowboys but made good on a pronouncement that he would return to play
in Super Bowl XXXIX, against the advice of team physicians.

His nine catch, 122-yard performance in a losing effort to the Patriots
was viewed as heroic, and Owens chastised reporters afterward for
questioning his commitment and noting that a player such as Brett Favre
would be praised for such a sacrifice.

As in San Francisco, Owens immersed himself in feuds in Philadelphia.
He clashed with his quarterback, Donovan McNabb, and head coach Andy
Reid. The team suspended him without pay, then later released him last
March 14.

The Cowboys signed him four days later, paying Owens a guaranteed $5
million in salary for 2006.

His stay in Dallas has been equally chaotic. A hamstring injury kept
him sidelined throughout the preseason, and Owens drew a team-imposed
fine for missing a workout and therapy session. Owens returned for the
Cowboys' season opening game against Jacksonville.

The broken finger, which required surgery to insert a plate and pins to
repair the fracture site, was originally projected to keep him out of
the Cowboys' lineup for as many as four weeks.

But Owens was adamant that he would return for Dallas' much-anticipated
Oct. 8 game at Philadelphia and even speculated earlier this week that
he would be ready to play Sunday against the Titans.

On Tuesday, the Cowboys abruptly switched their practice schedule and
Owens caught balls off to the side while his teammates practiced and
Owens was described as upbeat and laughing.

E-mail Nancy Gay at ngay@sfchronicle.com.

URL:
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